cut short by a concussion and broken nose in July, but he was able to finish the season with the Cubs, who had struggled to find a replacement for the injured Willson Contreras. Lucroy mostly missed the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, spending time at the Red Sox alternate training site, and had brief tenures with Washington and Atlanta when both teams were in need of a veteran catching presence. Early life Lucroy was born on June 13, 1986, in Eustis, Florida. His father Steven worked as a greenskeeper for local golf courses, while his mother Karen stayed at home to take care of Lucroy and his two younger brothers, David and Matthew. He grew up supporting the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB), and one of his favorite players was Chipper Jones. Lucroy began catching around the age of 10, when he was playing Little League Baseball under a team coached by his father. He started in the position at the request of his father, as Lucroy was one of the only players unafraid of being hit by the ball, and he stayed there after developing a talent in the position. Lucroy was an early standout at Umatilla High School, where he batted .310 with 10 doubles as a sophomore in 2002. He followed that performance by batting .500 with 10 home runs, nine doubles, and 35 runs batted in (RBI) as a junior, while committing only two errors behind the plate. He closed out his high school baseball career with a .450 batting average and 10 home runs as a senior in 2004. In addition to holding the Umatilla record with 22 career home runs, Lucroy collected a number of honors throughout his career: he was an All-State honorable mention as a freshman, All-Area second team as a sophomore, and All-Area first team, All-State first team, and All-Central Florida second team as a junior. In 2011, Umatilla High School retired Lucroy's No. 6 jersey. College career In November 2003, during senior year of high school, Lucroy committed to play college baseball for the Ragin' Cajuns of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, beginning with their 2005 season. Lucroy was one of three catchers for the Cajuns during his freshman year, splitting time with seniors Adam Massiatte and Justin Morgan. Although preference was given to the two senior catchers, Lucroy was a strong enough hitter that his college coaches did